Sellers Who Delay May Miss Out

Sellers Who Delay May Miss Out

Daily Real Estate News |
Monday, March 25, 2013

Some would-be move-up home sellers are eyeing home prices carefully. They’re waiting to see how much home prices appreciate more before they consider selling their home. But they may be missing their perfect opportunity, some housing experts say.

The best time to move may depend on when the home owner purchased their current residence, says Daren Blomquist, vice president of RealtyTrac. Blomquist says that home owners who purchased their home during the sluggish market the last two to three years may find moving up in 2013 may be their prime opportunity.

"Because they bought near the bottom, these home owners should have built up some good equity that can go toward the purchase of a new home, and waiting longer to build more equity likely won’t provide much advantage given that other homes that they might want to move up to will also be appreciating at roughly the same pace," Blomquist told HousingWire.

Home owners who wait much longer to sell their home may miss out.

"If you're selling one house just to move up to another, it does you no good to wait for prices to rise — the price of the move-up home will increase faster than the price of the place you're leaving behind," says Redfin CEO Glenn Kelman.

Plus, mortgage rates are expected to come off the 3.5 percent range and reach 4.4 percent in the next year, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. That will increase the costs of financing your next home.